CHRISTMAS

The staff at Corky Saint Clair want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. We'll be closed until next Wednesday.

Peace Out 2011.

WHALE

The Loneliest Whale in World
In 2004, The New York Times wrote an article about the loneliest whale in the world. Scientists have been tracking her since 1992 and they discovered the problem: she isn’t like any other baleen whale.

Unlike all other whales, she doesn’t have friends. She doesn’t have a family. She doesn’t belong to any tribe, pack or gang. She doesn’t have a lover. She never had one. Her songs come in groups of two to six calls, lasting for five to six seconds each. But her voice is unlike any other baleen whale. It is unique—while the rest of her kind communicate between 12 and 25hz, she sings at 52hz. You see, that’s precisely the problem. No other whales can hear her. Every one of her desperate calls to communicate remains unanswered. Each cry ignored. And, with every lonely song, she becomes sadder and more frustrated, her notes going deeper in despair as the years go by.


Just imagine that massive mammal, floating alone and singing—too big to connect with any of the beings it passes, feeling paradoxically small in the vast stretches of empty, open ocean.

The Happiest Whale in World
Not as lonely as the Baleen Whale above is Jeremy the Sperm Whale last seen circling the crafty circles of Corky Saint Clair. Jeremy has a cheeky smile that makes him a popular member of the Corky family.

BEAR

In the 70s TV series Grizzly Adams,  Adams is a woodsman during the frontier era who flees into the mountains after he is wrongly accused of murder. While struggling to survive, Adams discovers an orphaned grizzly bear cub whom he takes in and calls Ben. The bear, despite achieving huge adult bear size, becomes Adams's closest companion. 


Adams proves to have an uncanny link to most of the indigenous wildlife of the region, who have no fear of him. In return, he resolves never to harm another animal whenever possible. 


In the television series, Adams had two human companions, an old trader named Mad Jack the Mountain Man (Denver Pyle, commonly featured with a mule named "Number Seven") and a native American named Nakoma (Don Shanks). Together, they helped various visitors while protecting the wildlife.

At Corky we love bears too. Here is our sterling silver bear pendant that celebrates the bear strength of Ben and all his ursine companions.

HOLIDAYS

BUNNY

Cast Iron bunny bookends $75. Available from Corky Saint Clair.

PENGUINS

As well as being adorable these penguin jumpers helped keep penguins  warm while they waited to get cleaned up in the recent oil spill in New Zealand.
Fashionista reports: "Independent green news site Gist put out a call for knitters to knit some penguin sweaters for the oil spill victims.	A New Zealand yarn store even posted patterns for penguin sweaters and judging by these pictures, penguin sweater knitters actually get pretty creative."

PRINTS

Akiko Ueda from Assorted Press recently made a series of prints and cards for the 'For Japan' in aid of the Japanese Earthquake Fund' at the Japan Culture Festival.
Assorted Press is ultimately a study in form and colour.  Inspired by all things natural and manmade, the resulting outcome may take any form, in any medium.
Ueda's stall at the fundraiser. All profits from the 'For Japan' series will be donated to the Momo-kaki fund to aid the lives and education of children orphaned in the tsunami and earthquake disasters earlier this year. The prints are currently available on my etsy store.(www.etsy.com/shop/assortedpress)
These greeting cards and the prints above will be available from Corky Saint Clair.

GIVEAWAY

We have a giveaway in Desktop Magazine today. Click here to enter. Bon Chance tout le monde!

PASTEL

These candy coloured dishes would make the perfect Kris Kringle. Available from Corky Saint Clair $25AUD

HTML Tables

MARKIT

We had fun at Markit -which seemed to be the biggest design market in history. It stretched on and on, beyond the atrium and NGV foyer, deep into the BMW Edge.	As usual our custom made jewellery stands + trees designed by Akiko Ueda and Vince Chan made our stand look extra stylish.
There's Dave from Naomi Murrell Jewellery behind me in the distance and Sarah from super hot stationary label Ask Alice to the right.
...and there's illustrator Christian Roth in the sunnies on the right. There seemed to be a million people at Markit. The first three hours were a blur. We are becoming such old hands at design markets that it was far less traumatic than previous outings. I only fretted over one thing but decided to let go of it. The day became stress free and I was free to have some nice chats with old customers and design buddies.

WOLF

Our seventh featured artist for our jewellery exhibition EVERY MIX TAPE IS A LOVE LETTER is Architecture student and burgeoning designer-fabricator. Phillip Burns.
Phillip made this silver wolf which looks like it is either morphing geometrically or maybe exploding. I can't wait to see what other work he generates using this technique.
	I recently met up for brunch with Phillip at one of Melbourne's hottest eateries to record this exclusive interview.

Hi Phillip. Thanks for meeting me. I love the piece you made, it's very different to the other works in exhibition
Thanks Chris. I love your outfit, you look amazing!


Thanks man. Can you tell me what is this stunning work called?

It's called Crystal Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy is the study of the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. And the crystalline appearance of the wolf is in part capturing a split-second in time when the wolf is about to transform - and part palimpsest of the process of making the piece.

Can you tell me a little bit about the fabrication of your piece?

The piece was manipulated using 3D software, with particular intention to maintain evidence of that process.

What song inspired this necklace?

I chose Midnight Juggernauts - Devil Within. My Favourite Melbourne band - both the piece and the song were made in Melbourne. REPRESENT. The video clip shows the bands interest in Tron-esque 3D virtual environments. And the juggernauts are always going on about wolves.

Can you tell me what materials were used in the final version of your work?

The piece was 3D-printed in wax then cast in sterling silver. In fact - a Silver bullet is often sited as one of the only ways to kill a werewolf, so perhaps we've freeze-framed this one at that exact moment. Or at the exact moment of transformation from wolf back to human - it appears as if something is trying to escape from within the animal.

Are you intending to make other animals in this series using this technique. If so what other animals are you thinking of making?

I'm thinking about a bear, a swordfish, a eagle - quite defensive animals, and ideally I'd like to make one from every continent.

click for YOUTUBE

FALLING

Celebrated contemporary artist Michael Peck chose these parachutists models to cast in sterling silver. Peck has a most awesome show at Metro Gallery at the moment. If you get the chance check it out as it really is overwhelmingly beautiful.

	We loved the spazzy 'falling-ness' of this parachutist. There is something sweet about his open palm, as if he is experiencing a moment of ecstasy Available from Corky Saint Clair $100AUD

MUSIC

Our exhibition EVERY MIXTAPE IS A LOVE LETTER opened last night.  We were lucky enough to have actress/model Annie Last choreograph three performances that electrified our audience.  Annie Last is wearing my headpiece - "The Endless Prescient Vision of the Goddess Athena" which is cut from a solid piece sterling silver and supports a large quartz crystal.  The quartz crystal increases extra-sensory perception and sensitivity increasing your psychic powers by a factor of seven.
Phillip styling Annie Last before her big performance.
Young lovers enjoying the electric vibe at our exhibition opening.
Blender Crew Represent.
Young people checking out the amazing displays at our first jewellery exhibition EVERY MIXTAPE IS A LOVE LETTER. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the show; we got some really interesting work from a people from very varied backgrounds - from jewellery makers, sculptors, fine artists, architects and stylists. It was very balmy in the city yesterday so thank you to everyone who made the effort to attend our opening.  It was still warm as we walked home; I sighed and smiled to myself because it felt like our best Corky Party ever.

SAME

Subsection 5(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 defines marriage as ‘...the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’ Accordingly, it is not possible for same-sex couples to marry under Australian law and same-sex marriages entered into under the laws of another country are also not recognised in Australia.

MUSIC

Our sixth featured artists for our exhibition EVERY MIXTAPE IS A LOVE LETTER for the Melbourne Music Week are designers Ruby McMillan and Sergei Netchaef. They have  made a complicated body piece inspired by the video of Radiohead's LOTUS FLOWER They wrote: "The clip for Lotus Flower is pretty powerful and a little bit uncomfortable. It's really about seeing this music in a body, and how these tiny notes and rhythms are expresseds as movement, when mostly we just dance to the basic rhythm of a song. Music is so much about the body and not just the sensation of sound' There is something interesting about the way jewellery typically adorns the body.
Often it sits over the body, centred or held in place by gravity and a chain, or strapped or pinned to it so it doesn't move. We started trying to make a piece that was somehow dependent on the body, that would make the body part of the piece. necks and collarbones and the way they move are really pretty and quite strange.
The end result is something that places itself across the body, and uses the movement of the arms and neck to change the shaped of it. Different connections between the chains become visible when it moves differently, and the chains kind of 'play' on the body as it moves.

MARKIT

Markit@FedSquare is on again in two weeks!

Corky Saint Clair will be showing at Markit at Fed Square again. Markit has always been our favourite design market - The atrium at Fed Square is the perfect venue for that type of market - it's kinda outdoors but not really. It's also easy to get to and combine with other activities.

A Unique Christmas Shopping Experience

For one day only, Markit@FedSquare will showcase 100 of the most coveted independent designers in Australia, now doubled in size and spilling from the light filled Atrium into the huge BMW Edge Theatre at Federation Square.

There will be many delights for you to fill your Christmas stocking with at Markit@FedSquare, featuring fashion, jewellery, homewares, kids products, stationery, textiles, and collectables. Buy beautiful gifts, add to a collection or simply spoil yourself at Markit@FedSquare.

Visit www.markitfedsquare.com.au to see what's new from our November stall holders and start your Christmas shopping list.

And, don't forget to put Sunday 27th November 10am-5pm in your diaries!

MUSIC

Our fifth featured artist for our exhibition EVERY MIXTAPE IS A LOVE LETTER for the Melbourne Music Week is my silver smithing teacher Janet Marnell-Brown. Janet has made a gigantic brooch tribute to legendary film Singin' in the Rain.

Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography. It offers a comic depiction of Hollywood, and its transition from silent films to "talkies."
Although it was not a big hit when first released, it was accorded its legendary status by contemporary critics. It is now frequently described as one of the best musicals ever made, topping the AFI's 100 Years of Musicals list. Janet hand cut her silhouette from an old vinyl record. Another fun fact: the lamp post 'globe' also glows in the the dark.
At silver smithing class today I worked very hard on my piece for the exhibition. It is starting to look amazing thanks to Janet's tutelage. Hands down, Janet is the best teacher.

MUSIC

I forgot we mad this tee shirt a few years ago - the Every Mixtape is a Love Letter tee.

It's an original drawing by Sarah McNeil.

I might even reprint them this summer.

MUSIC

Our fourth featured artist for our exhibition EVERY MIX TAPE IS A LOVE LETTER as part of the Melbourne Music Week is none other than everyone's favourite fashion blogger FASHION HAYLEY.

Hayley has made a bizarre but eye catching tribute to that Russia's Greatest Love Machine - Rasputin.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is one of the most intense and controversial figures in history. He  was a Russian Orthodox Christian and mystic who is perceived as having influenced the latter days of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their only son Alexei. Some people called Rasputin the "Mad Monk", while others considered  him to be a psychic and faith healer.
Hayley has really captured some of Rasputin's intense mystic vibe with this beard necklace. I love all the brassy and ashy highlights Hayley has in her hair right now.
The beard piece is equally striking worn on your chest.
Hayley says she was inspired to make this piece by the classic Boney M song 'Rasputin'. You know the one - it has that unstoppable pop hook "RAH RAH RASPUTIN"
CLICK HERE FOR	YOUTUBE

DIAMOND

Sterling silver claw with Hermiker Diamond crystal. 80cm square link Italian sterling silver chain.

Available from Corky Saint Clair $200AUD